NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, January 18, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ — Award-winning Author Amal Naj Publishes “Pandastic Times: The Spell From the Deep Cave” – A Tale of Nature’s Revenge on Humans for Their Blatant Disregard of Other Species on Earth.

Struck by the deadly COVID-19 virus, award-winning author Amal Naj found himself isolated in a hospital ward, contemplating the mysterious forces that led to this global crisis. In his upcoming middle-grade fantasy novel, Pandastic Times: The Spell From the Deep Cave, he takes readers on a captivating journey into a world where nature retaliates against human cruelty and indifference towards animals.

Facing uncertain days of his own life in isolation, Naj’s mind delves beyond the origins of the virus and explores a profound idea—Nature avenging humans for their relentless cruelty to innocent animals. ( “The Jungle People also have their God, who answers their prayers,” declares the opening page of the book.) The result is his imaginative tale which unfolds as a mysterious “Spell” that banishes humans into hiding, allowing animals worldwide to reclaim the Earth which was rightfully theirs all along.

Naj weaves a whimsical narrative around a thirteen-year-old girl named Cathrin, who embarks on a fantastical journey to the Faraway Jungle alongside an android companion, Ms. Roxy. Deep within a cave, Cathrin forges an unlikely pact that ushers in a new order of life on Earth—one where humans and animals coexist openly as good neighbors.

With extensive illustrations by the author, the story is narrated through endearing characters— Mr. and Mrs. Coon of the raccoon family, Mr. Mole the mole, Ms. Lizzy the lizard—and some not-so-nice humans and it takes unexpected turns and delivers a multifaceted exploration of the human-animal relationship.

“In Naj’s middle-grade fantasy novel, a young girl explores a world cursed by a witch. This illustrated story for young readers is a Covid-19 allegory clothed in the trappings of a sweet fairy tale… Younger readers, who are the book’s clear target audience, will find it a funny and adventure-filled fantasy version of the strange lockdown experiences they remember. A textured and inventive fantasia inspired by the Covid-19 pandemic.”─ KIRKUS REVIEWS (December 2023)

“Pandastic Times” is available through major bookstores and online retailers such as Goodreads and the publisher BRAZEN HOUSE INC.

About the Author

Amal Naj, born in India and educated at Wilson College, Bombay, and Queen’s University in Belfast, Northern Ireland, is a former Wall Street Journal reporter and the author of “Peppers: A Story of Hot Pursuits,” (published by Knopf/Random House). With a unique blend of journalistic insight and creative storytelling, Naj continues to write with depth and literary flair which won his previous book “Peppers” the New York Public Library’s annual recognition as a “Book to Remember.”

Grab your copy today.

David Cooper
Woodbridge Publishers
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